Midori Berry Bliss
by galliechan
Summary: A collection of Skip Beat one-shots. Four: This was the reason, when he decided to leave Kyoto, Sho asked Kyoko to come with him. He was willing to part with his mother and her authoritarian manner but he wasn't willing to part with her cooking.
1. The Question Bo Couldn't Answer

Disclaimer: The Skip Beat manga is the property of its creator, Yoshiki Nakamura. The other Skip Beat media is property of their authorised owners. These stories are created by the author. All original settings, characters, etc., remain the property of the author.

Author's Note: The title is a cocktail. I love giving cocktail names to my one-shot collections; it has no relation with the stories.

As for its recipe;

Ingredients:

• 0.5 parts Midori Melon Liqueur

• 1 part vanilla vodka

• 1/2 part Skyy Raspberry Infusions Vodka

• Splash of pineapple juice

• Splash of soda water

• Strawberry slices for garnish

Preparation:

• Fill a punch bowl half way with ice,

• Add Midori, Vanilla Vodka, Skyy Raspberry Infusions, pineapple juice and a splash of soda water,

• Garnish with strawberry slices.

I didn't try it; I hope it is a nice drink!

I planned to make this story humorous but it turned out more dramatic. Hope you like it.

Midori Berry Bliss

A Skip Beat fanfiction collection

by Galliechan

© Copyright 2014

The Question Bo couldn't Answer

Lowering his arm for the umpteenth time, Ren stared at one of the identical staff room doors of TBM studios. He tried to take deep breaths to calm the butterflies in his stomach, eventually loosened his tie when it didn't help. He raised his arm again, but jerked when the door suddenly opened.

He was yanked inside with knowing smiles. The Ishibashi brothers patted his back on their way out of the room. Ren never used to be a transparent actor, on the other hand, in the recent years, he got used to feelings coming so deep that he couldn't hide it. Like the affection warming him when Bo the chicken tilted his head to one side at his silence.

Ren knew Bo's eyes and beak were fixed — the person inside was looking through a thin fabric near the eyes — however Ren would always give him expressions in his mind. He would be frowning with his eyebrows squished together right now, maybe with a surprised smile.

"Hello Ren," the-ever-helpful chicken said, "wasn't expecting you here".

"Surprise" he smiled. He wanted to grin and maybe shrug, knowing it irritated Bo like no other, but his affection ran too deep for this man and Ren learned not to hide it anymore.

Bo squinted. "Was there anything you need? Some guilty secret to confess to your friend here?" He took a squeaky step towards him, a sly grin on his face, "Friendly ear, shoulder to cry on, a huge wing to shelter you. All ready! Confess!"

Ren backed away, laughing, as the chicken took another loud step.

"Nothing to confess, I have a request."

"Ooh! That's fine too! What is it?"

Ren's stomach rolled. For the first time in a long while, he couldn't look at Bo's fixed eyes.

"Hm? What is it?"

He had a deep, raspy voice. Ren leaned down to see the man's eyes, but it only startled Bo.

"Ren?"

He wished a man was standing in front of him right now. Of course, he knew there was someone inside the costume but…asking a chicken! It couldn't be worse than learning love from this same chicken, right? Or receiving relationship advice? Ren could have never understood intricacies of a woman's behaviour if it weren't for Bo. He steeled his nerves.

"Do you know I am getting married?"

"Is there anybody who doesn't?"

Ren gave a weak smile. Asking Yukihito hadn't been as unnerving. He took a deep breath.

"Would you be my groomsman?"

Bo froze.

Ren held his breath. Kyoko had said to believe in his friendships. As the silence stretched longer, Ren reminded himself this was one of the two people whose friendship he was sure of. He suppressed the urge to put on a smile and say it was a joke. He released his shaky breath and gulped another one.

"I…I can't."

Ren felt his numb lips settling into a courteous smile. He felt like his head was spinning.

He nodded, "I understand".

He didn't understand. He was working hard against his inclination to isolate himself, however, his two friends were always by his side, even when it was him against the world.

He couldn't comprehend his colossal misjudgment.

He backed away.

A white, plush wing held his arm before he could take a step.

"You don't understand" said Bo. Ren gazed back with vacant eyes, however, blinked and his eyes widened when Bo did something unprecedented.

He took off his head for the first time in their association.

"I am the bride."


	2. Burnt rice with seaweed seasoning

Author's Note: First of all, thank you for all reviews and follows. This story has been waiting at my desktop for some time, a reminder for editing. I still think it is somewhat pointless but at least not it is easier to read.

Hope you enjoy it.

Slightly burnt rice with seaweed seasoning

Apart from their clothes, mannerisms and ridiculously complicated private lives, the Hongo family mansion showed their riches. It was a two-storey western style mansion with a separate wing for its master, a whole basement for servants, in addition to a huge dining hall with even a larger ball room. Along with its lavish gardens, the mansion was a sight to be seen. The fact that its real owners were able to lend it for six months because they 'prefer to stay in the newer one' didn't fit into even these talented artists' imagination.

Whatever the reason, they were happy to have a massive mansion to themselves. The huge master suite as well as the drawing room, parlour, some servant bedrooms and the enormous dining hall and ball room were used for shooting. The staff utilised rest of the upstairs bedrooms.

They disregarded the kitchen as it didn't have water and gas. They learned it had a working microwave when Kyoko-chan surprised the team with homemade soup in a pre-dawn shooting. She blushed furiously at the cheers.

The scene was long and sun was faster than them so they had pre-dawn shooting the next day. This time, cheers were for Oohara-san.

"The happiest group I've seen for plain rice," she smiled as the girls helped serving.

"I am not good at cooking," Itsumi-san blushed as she showed up with fried eggs the next day.

The team nearly teared up when Iizuka-san handed them an onigiri each. She muttered "I am not as busy as you youngsters" with a blush.

If they were sad when this scene ended, they didn't show it to the director. So when Ogata-san came to announce midnight scenes with moonlight with a tray full of cookies, they were pleasantly surprised.

Takagi-san announced takoyaki with joy and "my wife made them" the next day. Everybody laughed when Kijima-san complained about his uncooked rice the loudest. Tsuraga-san's sushi the next day was delicious, but against the rules.

"You have to cook it yourself" Oohara-san said, her hands at her waist.

"Ordered food isn't accepted" Itsumi-san added.

Tsuruga-san warily looked at the women cornering him, "I can't cook. And, you ate it already".

"Take example from Kijima-san, he cooked even when he didn't know how to."

"Which explains its taste".

Itsumi-san and Oohara-san glanced each other, no heart in them to lie about it.

"Also," Tsuruga-san continued with a smile, "I don't have much time to do it".

Director Ogata called him before either of them gave the answer he deserved for that comment. It was forgotten by the time Kyoko-chan came with a saucepan from kitchen.

At his next turn, Tsuraga-san ordered pizza. The one after, Thai food. The next day he had to hide in the kitchen, under the pretence of helping Kyoko-chan.

A few days later when Mizuki glared at Katsuki, he answered "I can't cook". Director Ogata laughed out loud before "Cut".

"Do something basic, Tsuruga-san, to appease the ladies."

"I can't cook."

"Everybody has some quick meal to put together when they get hungry. I'm sure you have - " Ogata-san silenced, Tsuruga-san's expression clearly stated in such cases, he didn't eat at all.

Tsuruga-san began to sit next to Kyoko-chan at these snack times as the women liked the girl too much to glare at her direction for long. Ogata-san learned not to get into these staring battles, Kijima-san gifted a 'I can't cook' saying t-shirt to Tsuruga-san and even Takagi-san needed to ask if his wife's food was accepted. When Iizuka-san took ladies' side, Yukihito-san began to accompany him between rooms. Only when, instead of laughing at Kijima-san's proud declaration of "it tastes awful, but I cooked it myself" over some horrible rice, the ladies glared at Tsuruga-san, Kyoko-chan became aware of a silent war going on.

"Tsuruga-san?" she looked up at him over a cup of Kijima-san's watery rice.

"Yes, Mogami-san?" he looked at her with his gentleman smile.

"N…nothing," she quickly returned to her cup.

"Mogami-san," he sighed. A glance showed no smiles so she turned to look at him. "I can't cook" he said, with an expression to show how often he used this phrase these days.

"Hm?"

"Apparently it was against rules to order food."

"You didn't prepare them yourself?" she squealed.

An astonished silence fell over the room. Tsuraga-san couldn't manage to lower his head before he chortled. He tried to stifle his snigger at Kyoko-chan's glare.

"I didn't prepare them myself, Mogami-san," his voice wavered.

"That is against the rules!"

"I don't know how to cook," he shrugged. He smirked when irritation flashed across Kyoko-chan's face.

"Do you know how to cook anything? Anything at all?" Kyoko-chan said.

"I can't cook," he said with a deadpan expression.

Kyoko-chan's one eyebrow ticked. "When someone around you don't prepare food, what do you eat?"

"I buy food."

"Something energy, something calories, right?"

Tsuraga-san leaned back, knowing where this conversation was going. "Right," he replied, a chagrined expression spreading, hands already halfway, waiting for the explosion.

"Tsuraga-san, your body is your tool and treasure, is this how you look after yourself? Would a pro disregard his body like this? Tsuraga-san, you don't behave like a pro!"

Another astonished silence fell over the room.

"Really Mogami-san," Ogata-san said in a soft voice, "wasn't this going too far?"

"What?" Tsuruga-san growled. Many people startled at Katsuki's dark look. Itsumi-san and Oohara-san glanced each other in alarm, they never intended Kyoko-chan to be in trouble with her sempai.

"You dare look at me like this," Mio answered, "even when you know what happened in the past."

Blink. Katsuki was gone. Blink. Mio was gone. The two actors continued glaring at each other, as if getting in and out of character in the middle of conversation was an everyday occurrence. The rest of the room watched, mesmerised.

"Mogami-san - "

"So, Tsuruga-sempai can't cook," she stated.

"Right," he answered slowly, suspicious of Kyoko-chan's sudden mood change.

"None at all?" she asked with a disturbing business smile.

"None," he agreed.

"How disappointing" she moaned, slumping in her seat. Tsuruga-san startled, everybody in this room knew he respected his kohai's words as much as she, her sempai's. "I thought Tsuruga-sempai could do everything he put his mind to."

"I never put my mind to cook - "

"To being a pro." Tsuruga-san silenced, Kyoko-chan looked at him with wide, innocent eyes. "I thought Tsuruga-sempai put his mind to being a pro."

Tsuruga-san's eyes widened. Then closed, with a smile.

Yukihito-san snorted. As if his charge stood any chance against that girl. Especially with this subject.

"Yukihito-san," she called with a bright smile, "when does Tsuruga-san return home today?"

Many people in the room giggled as Tsuruga-san gave a fond smile to the girl he lost fair and square.

The next day, they were the proud eaters of Tsuruga-san's first cooking - slightly burnt rice with seaweed seasoning. He looked proud of it.


	3. Her grandfather, the bubbly girl and she

Author's Note: First of all, thank you for your reviews. I'm glad you like these stories.

Editing is a writer's hell. I can't stand it. It is a must though…unfortunately. I think this one needs some more but I got bored of it (Sorry).

There are some theories about President and Jelly's relationship, this is my take on it. I couldn't help adding Ren to its end (bad writer! Should have edited it out! It is irrelevant!).

Hope you like it.

Her grandfather, the bubbly girl and she

Maria was a toddler when her grandfather introduced Jelly. She was tiny with cute curly hair. Grandfather kept calling her an artist.

For a long time, when someone mentioned art and brushes, Maria thought of make-up. It wasn't for some years that she understood people were talking about painting.

People told her that Jelly made her mother look angelic. Maria didn't understand as her mother already looked like an angel. Though she would admit Jelly's make-up made her grandfather look more shiny and extravagant than usual.

The first time Jelly's artistic brushes touched her face was after the funeral. She didn't say it wasn't her fault or how great a model her mother used to be. The only thing she said was that it was waterproof make-up, just in case. She had a kind smile though.

Maria never knew her grandmother. There was a portrait of her grandparents in the house, but it was too colourful to look at for long. Her grandfather loved his job, company and Maria, she never thought he could love another person. Or another person could love him. She didn't figure out Jelly's blushes for quite a long time.

When she did…let's just say, her grandfather was the victim she developed her cruel mischief and stalking skills on.

Her grandfather was a cheerful and optimistic person in love. It was years later that Maria understood the nuance between in love with love and in love with someone. Similarly, it took as much time to see the difference between adoration and admiration.

To her defence, her grandfather has always been this way and she didn't know how rare it was.

If her grandfather was messenger of love, his technique was discovering people's potential. Jelly had been a talented make-up artist, but under grandfather's careful eye, she turned into the witch of make-up.

What irked Maria to no end was that his grandfather tutored Jelly literally under his eye. She worked for movies and dramas, but not as much as she worked for her grandfather's daily make-up. Especially on important dates. So Jelly was around in all Valentine's Day season and never failed to give chocolate to grandfather. He wasn't allowed to eat it.

Her unfortunate affection towards her grandfather aside, Jelly was easy to talk to. She was cheerful, bubbly and energetic. She was also one of the few females around so Maria had quite a few embarrassing conversations with her.

Jelly was also the one who taught her to do make-up. As much as Maria couldn't understand why she would need to do her own make-up — Jelly was always around — it helped learn tips from an expert. She could point out the girls' errors at school.

Jelly was the witch of make-up, but for Maria, she was her grandfather's favourite make-up artist. He introduced only his favourites to her. So when they came with a young man with shiny black hair, blinking like his eyes were hurting, she knew he was going to be one of them as well.


	4. Picky Eater

Author's note: Sho is one of my least liked characters in this manga, maybe except Reino, but it was surprisingly easy to write about him and Kyoko. They have history, chemistry and lots of emotions. I felt Ren's pain.

I think this one turned out pretty. Hope you like it!

Picky Eater

Sho wasn't a picky eater. At the glorious age of sixteen, he could eat whatever was in front of him and would be hungry two hours later, but he wasn't a picky eater when he was a child as well. He didn't like everything put in front of him, he just knew not to complain when it wasn't the superior food founded in a ryokan.

His parents trained him compliant like that.

In fact, ryokan was the only place he could be picky about his food. It was the only place his mother cooked, even though it was occasionally at most. For Sho, there were two types of cooking: His mother's and other people's.

Kyoko never understood this distinction, Sho guessed, because Kyoko's mother never cooked for her. Then again, in young Sho's mind, it wasn't a valid reason not to notice the obvious difference between these meals. Kyoko was stupid like that.

When Kyoko began taking cooking lessons from his mother, Sho was enraged. She dared to imply she could cook like his mother.

"You are an imposter!" Sho had shouted. She had run away with tears in her eyes.

The next day, she was back. She was like…what did those boys at school played…a boomerang, back then. However far you threw her away, she would come back.

(Until, one day, she didn't.)

Sho didn't eat Kyoko's food and she didn't offer any. She continued her lessons though.

A few years later, when his mother offered to teach tea ceremony to Kyoko, Sho understood the reason for all those cooking lessons. He was horrified. On the other hand, he inwardly had to congratulate his mother, because the moment Sho tasted Kyoko's cooking, his food categories changed: His mother or Kyoko's and other people's.

This was the reason, when he decided to leave Kyoto, Sho asked Kyoko to come with him. He was willing to part with his mother and her authoritarian manner but he wasn't willing to part with her cooking.

Tokyo's cuisine was so different from Kyoto's. He would have complained sooner if Kyoko didn't prepare his breakfast every morning, ready for him when he woke up. Afterwards, she began to prepare bento boxes. It was the only uncool spot in Sho's spotless visage but he lived through it for its taste and low fat.

As popular as Sho was at school, he didn't hang out after school. The reason was Kyoko - she either had to hang out with him, which wasn't fun, or she would go home and his parents would understand what Sho was doing, which was even less fun. So Sho went outside only at the weekends, and knew only the coolest places around (Sho preferred to stay at home and play his guitar anyway, therefore he used Kyoko as an excuse. If he noticed even boys were bullying her for monopolising the most popular guy's time, he didn't care).

The cool places in his neighbourhood served traditional food, as a result, Tokyo was the discovery of fast food for Sho. Who wanted rice and fish when he could have cheeseburger and frappucino? Kyoko only knew traditional food, ugh.

At his age, no amount of calories could affect him but fat, those fat, affected his most valuable part.

Ok, maybe second. His voice was pretty important too.

They created pimples. Fast food exited Sho's life as fast as it entered. Sho was left with his smiling teddy bear rice, octopus sausages and other heart shaped foods. He had to ask Kyoko to stop making cute bento as it was uncool and made Shoko think he had a girlfriend.

A few months later, he went to his first tour. Shoko laughed at how much food he brought until he told her about pimples.

At his next tour, they had a cook with them. His food wasn't as good as Kyoko's but Sho wasn't a picky eater. Shoko's food wasn't even as good as the cook's but Sho wasn't going to complain about anything she did.

He tried to notify Kyoko before going to the condo so she could prepare his favourite foods. It didn't work as he didn't know when he would have the need and time to go to the condo. In addition, if prepared beforehand, it got significantly harder to free himself from her. Kyoko was able to prepare delicious snacks quickly, anyway.

When Kyoko swore revenge on him, it was symbolic for her to throw food at him. It would have been even better if it was one of the bento boxes she prepared.

Then again, She wasn't a picky eater.


End file.
